Israeli Watchdog Group To Sue EU

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Written by Samuel Sokol

Wednesday, 20 January 2010 19:00

In light of the European Commission's continuing refusal to release important documents regarding its funding of Israeli and Palestinian non-governmental organizations, Israel-based watchdog group NGO Monitor announced on Wednesday at a Jerusalem press conference that it was undertaking legal action in the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.

The suit, initiated by Professor Gerald Steinberg, president of NGO Monitor, will argue that the EU funds NGOs whose activities fuel the Arab-Israeli conflict, while failing to reveal the details of this support as mandated by the EU's Freedom of Information Law. Steinberg is also the founder of the Program on Conflict Management and Negotiation and teaches in the department of political studies at Bar Ilan University. NGO Monitor monitors and critiques non-governmental organizations operating in Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

"The actions of the EU, in providing considerable funds to these organizations, occur without any real oversight or review and are in direct contradiction to European objectives in the region," Professor Steinberg said. "We have made every effort to obtain the documents necessary for analysis for over a year, without any substantive response," he added. "We therefore have no other option than to take this issue to the courts and sincerely hope this will lead the EU to act in a responsible, law-abiding manner on such critical funding issues.

Several organizations receiving European funding have been involved in demonizing Israel, such as the supposed human rights organization B'Tzelem. B'Tzelem has listed terror leaders as "killed while not engaged in hostilities" and has occasionally mislabeled terrorists as "civilians."

European Union funded NGOs include Mada al-Carmel and Adalah, which collaborated on the 2007 Haifa Declaration decrying Israel as a Jewish state and asking for Jewish acknowledgment of Israel's culpability for the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The European Union has not explained how the funding of Israeli-Arab groups calling for a "change in the definition of the State of Israel from a Jewish state . . ." does not constitute meddling in the state's internal political affairs. The declaration itself bears the European Union logo.